The Tale of Teapot
by Jazz Luther
Summary: Teapot, daughter of Alice and Tarrant, has a very big destiny ahead of her. But can she find herself while fighting a rebellion?
1. A Carriage

She had red hair, blue eyes, the prettiest little dress complete with a purple bow in her hair. She lived the life of a Princess, a mad Princess, but a Princess nonetheless. Her mother was Alice Kingsleigh, which perfectly explained her madness to everyone around her. And although the girl could only think of three impossible things before breakfast every day, six before lunch, some considered the girl madder than her mother. But no matter how mad, binkers or completly insane the girl was, she was nine and one half years old and hated sitting still. Especially when going to a place she hated more than anything.

Alice Kingsleigh had returned to her Wonderland three times in her life. Once, as a child, another as a teenager and the last as a woman. Not long after her last had she had her small daughter, who looked very dejected in her purple dress in this carriage. Alice could not help but feel guilty for forcing the child to come visit with her, but Lord Ascot was on his death bed and no one would take the childsince the incident with Lowell. Alice sighed at her daughter, and smiled lightly. The girl stuck out her tongue at her mother, to which Alice responded with her own. The girl giggled at her mother, who then made a face at her daughter. The young child was now outright laughing.

"So my child, what were your three impossible things for today?"

Alice said, curiously as the girl scrunched her face up in thought. The came the sweet voice of her young daughter.

"Well, for my name to be Teapot. And to not visit John and Chris. And for Chris and John to be a bit smarter, maybe. And to fall down a rabbit hole. And to go on a grand adventure, and to make a castle out of cards, and to not be in this carriage in this stuffy dress, to not be in this dress at all would be nice. I much perfer trousers to dresses, and for these sho..."

"Dear," Alice said, interruppting her daughters rant with a laugh. "That's seven you have already!"

"Oh, really? I have a lot more." The girl pulled up her knees to her chest and mumbled to them something about the impossible being possible. Alice sighed at her daughter, with a small smile. What a strange girl. Just like her, save the red hair. She was a carbon copy of Alice at a young age with red hair. How the red hair had came, she didn't know.

"Well, I can make one of your imposwsible things possible. Today, everyone shall call you 'Teapot', and I'll tell Chris and John to as well."

"Really, mum?"

"Really."

The newly called Teapot smiled as she looked outside at the endless feilds of grass, suddenly not dreading this day so much. One of her impossible things had come true already. Maybe another one would as well. The thought of it made her giggle. Wonderland, as her mother called it in fairy tales. She would visit Wonderland one day. Her blue eyes flashed for one moment to a light green. Alice looked out the window with her daughter. Maybe one day, she too would visit Wonderland again. 


	2. Tea Party

Alice and the newly named Teapot arrived at the Ascot home with no further discussions. As the ride had gone on, Teapot had become more and more depressed about her fate. Normally, would not allow the girl to sit in on tea parties and ask her to go play with Chris and John, Mr. Hamish's two _darling_ children. Hamish, after Alice's refusal had been accepted by another girl. As Teapot would say often, Hamish's wife was just plain stupid. Which explained Chris and John's stupidness as well.

"Is it better to have madness or stupidity run in a family, mum?"

Teapot asked as her mum stepped out of the carriage gracefully. Teapot, meanwhile jumped out of the carriage, causing the driver quite a buck. He cursed, and then muttered an apology to her mum before going off. Teapot giggled at him girlishly, and then looked back to her mother.

"Madness, dear. Madness."

Alice said as she knocked on the door, and waited. Teapot stood beside her, looking somewhat proper. Well, as proper as a person infected with madness could. The purple dress wasn't really helping, nor the red hair. The blue eyes had apparently came from her Grandfather or something like that. Mum had explained it her once, about the genes and how they make people look the way they do. It was all a bunch of rubbish to her. Just like school. School was absolute rubbish. They never taught her anything important. Like how to talk to a dog. But that was her madness creeping in again. A dog couldn't talk, could it? maybe it cou...

"Teapot, dear."

Alice said gently, interrupting her daughter's thoughts. Oh, dear. How utterly distracted she was. She would probably never fit in here, just as she wouldn't either. Both of them were too mad for this world. Teapot muttered an apology to her mother, just before the door opened with a creak to view Mrs. Ascot, standing in the doorway.

"Oh, Alice! And Lacey as well, I see. Alice, your mother and sister are here as well, with her child of course."

Teapot made a face. No. Lowell Jr. was here too? How horrid. Of all the three, she hated Lowell Jr. the most. He was a tyrannical bad-word that made the twins into his scapegoats. Lowell Jr. didn't like her as much as she didn't like him, so she expected that today would be full of bullying. Alice, meanwhile, had dropped her smile but for a moment before regaining herself. She loved her mother dearly, but she always seemed to cast such a disappointed eye over Teapot. Teapot was a fatherless child, and would never be up to par with Margret's and Lowell's only child. This never seemed to bother Teapot though, as she was always utterly distracted.

"Hello, Lady Ascot. Yes, I did bring my dear Teapot with me."

"Teapot? What an absurd name! I believed her name was Lacey."

"Yes, well for today she has decided to be called Teapot. I hope that is alright."

"Of course, of course. Now why don't you two come in and drink some tea with your sister and mother."

"Thank you, Lady Ascot."

Alice spoke kindly, amazed at how soft Lady Ascot was. Perhaps it was because of Lord Ascot's sickness., and their company. After all, no need to make Alice seem a fool in front of her own daughter who was being remarkably quiet. Quiet was not a word to describe Teapot in the least. Alice cast a worried glance at her daughter who seemed to be perfectly content in smiling. Obviously lost in her thoughts once more. She was there, but not really. The girl was a wonder, truly.

The trio entered the tea room quietly, all three smiling as if they were bemused at the two ladies gossiping before them. Alice took a seat beside her mother and Teapot stood beside her mother, expecting to be asked to leave shortly. Lady Ascot sat across from the pair and looked to all of them, who had suddenly gone quiet. Lady Ascot was quite paler than usual, and seemed more meek. Poor woman. She was losing her husband. Lady Ascot gave a meek smile before speaking.

"So, Alice. How was your trip?"

"Tiring, but alright. Me and Teapot had the most wonderful conversation..."

Margret and Alice's mother gave a worried glance towards Alice, wondering if she was talking about an actual teapot. But that was before Lady Ascot's reply.

"Ah, yes Teapot. Teapot, why don't go out to the gardens and play with boys? I'm sure they would be glad to see you."

"Yes ma'am."

Teapot answered obediently before leaving the room. And so the torture began.

Alice looked back at her mother and sister with a smile.

"She's asked to be called Teapot for a while. She was a wonderful imagination."

"That she does."

Answered Margret, still in shock from the name and the simple obedience from the daughter of Alice. Last time she had seen Teapot, she had argued with every adult in the room and _won_. Now she seemed to be listening. How had Alice managed this? Lowell Jr. was always arguing with his father or her. She looked to Lady Ascot, for help. Lady Ascot cleared her throat.

"So Alice, how have you been?"

She asked meekly.

"Oh, wondrous. Me and Teapot went dress shopping..."


	3. Down The Rabbit Hole

Hey, everyone! Thanks for readin', I much appreciate it. Now, as I get into the cannons here you'll have to excuse me a bit. I know I probably haven't done a great Alice so far, but I hope you're enjoying my story!

Please review! We'll be getting down the rabbit hole soon. Thanks again!

* * *

Teapot had set out to avoiding her cousin and Hamish's children at all costs, even getting lost in the maze and hiding in the rose bushes. She did not want to be found. Who ever wanted to be found? Getting lost was the funnest thing in the world! Like that time her mother and her had gone dress shopping, and she hid in a really big dress. They hadn't found her for hours! But now, Teapot was strolling down part of the maze quietly, hoping she wouldn't be found.

Her hopes were duly crushed.

"Look, there she is!"

"Lowell, we found her!"

Oh crud. She turned around to face two tiny replicas of Hamish. Now, it was her opinion that Hamish was an ugly old toad. And two tiny ugly old toads was most certainly not what she wanted face at the moment. So, she ran the opposite direction from them and turned a corner.

Only to run into Lowell Jr., who was better looking and taller than both of them combined. She fell back into the bushes, just as the two ugly toads ran up to look at her.

"Oi! Why you in the bushes?"

"Yeah, why you in the bushes?"

It was only after their resounding remarks that they looked upon the black haired, well dressed Lowell. Teapot glared at Lowell with such a passion that has not been seen in ages. The small girl had her muchness, and she intended to keep it.

"Oh, Lowell!"

"You put 'er there, din't you?"

Lowell glared at his two 'friends'. More specifically, pawns. They followed orders perfectly, and he was happy for that but they were fools. He hated the both of them, but he hated the small girl in the bushes more. She lived life like a princess, but she was mad while his family was poor, but proper.

"Of course I did, fools!"

That was when Teapot spat at him, and then started to run. Lowell did not spend time to wipe the spit off his face, instead ordered the twins to grab her immediately. They both jumped on the girl, pinning her to the ground where she struggled. It was then that he unceremoniously wiped the spit from his cheek, and then walked to where Teapots head and leaned in very close to her ear.

"Tell your impossible things for the day, dear Lacey."

He said, hissing her name out. How he despised this little creature, from the same family and yet so unruly. She ruined the families name every day that she lived. His family. Not hers. Never was it her family.

"A rabbit hole."

She said defiantly, staring daggers into his face She had no intention of giving up. He slapped her. She still glared at him with the fire of a thousand suns. It made her wonder how many suns there were, anyways. Her eyes were glinting with yellow as she stared at him with such hatred. It was what he hated most about her. Her changing eyes. It was unnatural.

"A rabbit hole, eh? Well, we should make sure you get your wish."

He said standing up as he snapped his fingers and both of the toads got off of her. She took a deep breath, finally able to breathe. They may be toads, but they were heavy toads. She got up, and they grabbed her arms from behind and covered her mouth. She struggled again, this time attempting a scream but quickly had her mouth covered with a hand. Lowell led the way as the troupe of children made their way deeper into the garden. It was only when they came to a certain tree did they stop.

"Here it is Lacey, dearest" He sneered at her name. "Your _rabbit hole_. Have a nice trip. Throw her in."

He ordered and they obeyed, as Teapot took an unexpected tumble that turned out to be more than _just_ a rabbit hole. She was falling, falling deeper than she should have. She passed by things, strange things. A piano playing itself and lots of clocks. Clacks and chimes and bells. Had she been knocked unconscious? Maybe this was all just a dream, she thought as she fell. Of course, when she hit the floor it was surprisingly soft. And then she fell again, to the floor. Well that was confusing. She had landed on the ceiling, then? But if she was falling down, how could she have landed on the ceiling. She stood up slowly.

"Curiouser and Curiouser..."

* * *

Meanwhile, back the Ascot Manor...

The three boys stared at the rabbit hole with wide eyes as the girl that had just been thrown in disappeared. Chris and John were the first to scream, followed by Lowell as all three of them ran back to the house to recount their tale. Well, for Lowell to. After all, he was the smart one. And all of them would get in trouble for bullying.


	4. Underland

Once again, thank you for reading and reviewing!

Everything should turn out much nicer now that I've got some friends helping me with proofreading. Thank you all!

Review, please!

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Sometimes, Mirana was completely bored by the company of the fine Duchess's in her kingdom. She had ruled the land for eight and one half years, found a husband and had her lovely child Dedrick. As she listened to the ladies chat, she couldn't help but think of the Hatter, locked away in his home. Alice had left once again, and Time had stopped. It had taken time a while to regain himself, but he had moved on. Tarrant couldn't handle that very well. Nobody visited him anymore, save Malkymuns and Chessur who seemed to live with him now.

It was just when Mirana was thinking of how Tarrant used to be when Dedrick had burst into the utterly boring tea party, holding out a frog. The ladies screamed. Mirana giggled. She stood, and crossed her way over to her young son and patted his black head.

"Now, who is that Dedrick?"

She asked quietly as she led her son out of the room. His father had obviously lost the poor child. Once outside, Mirana pried the frightening frog from Dedrick's hands and apologized. It hopped off muttering angrily about children and royal families. She smiled peacefully and bent down to the child.

"Dedrick, we must not pick people up. It is rude."

"Yes, mama."

Mirana laughed at the boy and tweaked his nose, much to the boys suprise.

"Maaaamaaa."

Mirana laughed at the boy again and stood up. The boy watched in awe of his mother's gentleness, her gracefulness. That was when Mirana's chosen husband rounded the corner. Things had most certainly changed in Underland. The happy family embraced warmly and began their walk around the Gardens.

But not everything was happy in Underland. Especially in Witzend.

The Hatter sat alone in his home. Mal and Chessur brought him food and everything he needed to survive, but inside he was dying. He was one tragedy away from being completely and utterly mad. It was that day he decided to get up for the first time in months from his workshop chair. He moved slowly, clumsily. Just like Time did anymore. He moved to a mirror.

What he saw did not shock him. Nothing gave rise out of him anymore. His hair had become a duller orange as his body recovered from Mercury poisoning. He had not worked since Alice left. His eyes seemed deeper sunk into his face, he looked dirty and ragged. Almost dead. He raised one hand to his face, and touched it. And then he saw the golden band that was around his finger.

"Alice."

He whispered softly, before falling to his knees on a pile of fabric and crying. And crying. He cried until he finally fell asleep, long past when the sun had finally set. What he had not noticed was that the sun had set faster than usual.

But somebody else did.

Chesur was sitting in the woods, by his lonesome as he often did. He watched the sunset fall quickly and it made him wonder what exactly had caused Time to move so fast all of the sudden. Then he noticed the trees stretching. Underland itself was celebrating something maybe? Quite possibly. Had Alice returned? He doubted it.

He looked beyond the path and saw something. No, someone. A small girl, with red hair. Red hair. He quite liked the color red. Casually, he started towards the girl. Maybe she had something interesting to say.


	5. Margret

Lowell had gotten better after his son had been born, or at least, better at hiding it. Then again, Lowell Jr. wasn't Margret's son. The woman fakes nine months of pregnancy to save her husband's reputation, and adopted the child. Of course, nobody noticed much. The boy looked so much like his father, nobody really noticed the difference. The idea of 'family' was lost on the girl woman.

And, so Margret sat, prim and proper, amongst other fine ladies. She smiled just like the rest of them, gossiped like the rest of them, but never understood how women cared for children of their own flesh and blood. Such as the young Teapot. Margret, being the proper lady she was, saw Teapot as a pimple in the face of their family. It was no wonder Lowell had forbidden Margret from speaking to Alice. It would have been so much easier for Alice to simply leave Teapot at an orphanage or something, and forgotten all about the bastard girl. It's what Margret would have done.

But there was always something Margret was missing. She always felt lonely, as if none on earth could understand her. And there was Alice, sitting across from her with a mysterious smile, sipping her tea and chatting away with Lady Ascot about Teapot. What kind of name was Teapot anyways? And who on earth let their child name themselves? It made no sense, it was such nonsense. Margret sipped her tea quietly, and tried to listen without getting angry. She hadn't see her sister since two years ago at a family reunion, and that hadn't turned out well either. Somehow, little Teapot's heritage had been brought up, and ended in a fight between Alice and Lowell, which Teapot promptly broke up with a "Why does it matter to you?" It had left Lowell speechless, but only for a moment. He then told her it was 'grown-up business', which she greatly disliked. She eventually won the argument, much to Lowell's distaste. That was around the time when she was forbidden to talk to Alice anymore.

So, when Lowell Jr. and the twins had come in to explain that Teapot had gone missing, she had no idea why Alice had jumped so suddenly and told the boys to lead her to where they had last seen her. None of the ladies tried to stop her, there was just something about her expression of panic and worry that silenced them. The tea party continued ins silence, each lady sipping their tea not saying a word.

In truth, Margret was curious, and yet jealous at the same time of Alice and Teapot. They seemed to share something secret that made her long to be a part of it. But, no. Neither of them were telling. Margret cast a glance at her mother, who seemed utterly calm. How could she be calm? Her grandchild was missing! Then again, maybe Alice acted towards their mother the same way she acted towards Lowell and herself. Keep Teapot away. Perhaps...

The thought ended when Alice once again entered the room, this time her dress dirtied. Mother was the one to ask why her dress was soiled. She had apparently fell in the grass looking for Teapot. It was my turn to speak.

"Wouldn't it just be better to leave the girl missing?"

I spoke, and sipped my tea. Alice just stared at me for a moment, eyes wide with horror. I daren't look into those eyes, they would make me hate herself down to the very core. Lady Ascot was the one to comfort Alice. It had been a long time since Alice rejected Hamish's proposal, and it seemed to be forgot. After all, Lady Ascot now had a blessed pair of twin boys to carry on the family name.

"Don't worry, dear. If Teapot does not come back by morning we shall form a search party for her. I certainly know some of Hamish's friends will help locate the young girl."

I listened as plans were made, wondering why I had said such a cruel thing to her sister. It made no sense. I glanced at Alice as she remained quiet, and noticed something. Her hand was in her dress pocket. It had been all this time. And it looked like she was grasping something. I wondered what she was holding so tightly, maybe a necklace of Teapot's? Perhaps...

Perhaps I would have to see what it was later on, when everyone was asleep.


	6. Teapot

Oh, gosh! Sorry this took so long! We had a couple of issues with the first draft I wrote of chapter 5, so I had to rewrite that and then write this one. And then one of betas got sick and we got caught up in life, and everything just went plain wrong. This chapter and the previous will be undergoing some changes for the next few days. The content will stay the same, just fixing grammar and tense issues here and there.

Anyways, I really hope you all are enjoying this! Expect another double update possibly this Saturday or Sunday. Due to testing, and the fact that we all will be just tired out that's probably going to be the only other update this week.

But, review! it pleases me to no end that people are enjoying this! And tell me if I'm doing a good job of Chesur! I find him somewhat difficult to write, but I wish to hear from you! How am I doing?

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There were many times when Teapot became frightened. Like when she suddenly got angry and would start shouting words she didn't know, or when her dreams were particularly scary. This was not one of those times. As she looked about the checkered room (wondering, did anyone ever play checkers in a checkered room?) with doors of every size about it. There some humongous doors, and some tiny, and there was one just right Teapot-sized doors. And they were all different styles too! Some were plain flat doors, some were ornate and decorated. And the doorknobs! All of those were different too! What a curious room!

It was only after she noticed the table and the key that she had wondered if all of these doors were locked. The key wasn't very big, but it wasn't very small either. It seemed to be the perfect size for her. She picked it up off the table and went over to the Teapot sized door. Maybe this would work. She turned the key slowly and heard a click. Was it really that simple? She opened the door and saw the world behind it, and slowly stepped in.

Everything seemed so much brighter than London, even if she was in a forest. Everything seemed to flutter with life, butterflies chattered away to each as they flew along and a colony of tiny people walked across the path. How strange. Small people. She went up to their line, and bent down to watch them move. It was amazing.

One of them threw something at her and said it was impolite to stare at people. She apologized quickly and diverted her eyes. She stood up and then slowly stepped over their line. They were little ants, scurrying off with their things. She waved to them and kept on walking. She had never felt lost in her life, and now was no exception. As she went and examined all the strange things in this forest of wonder, she had to ask herself. Is this a dream? It certainly seemed like it.

Once she had walked a long way, and it was very dark, Teapot bowed to a tree and asked it if she could possibly rest in it for a night. The tree let out a groan, which she assumed meant "Yes" as it seemed to bend over to allow her to climb into it. Once she was in it, it slowly went back to it's original stature and gently encompassed the small girl in it's branches to keep her from falling. She slept soundly, losing herself in gentle dreams of a strange grin.

Chesur watched the girl from his evaporated state. He could say the girl looked like Alice, but it was obviously not Alice. She was much too red, and small to be Alice. But for some reason, he liked this girl. She had at least asked before sleeping in a tree. Most would just sleep in it. She was like Alice, but not. There was something else there, maybe a bit of Tarrant? Hmm. He would have to go to the White Queen to ask her of this. After all, she was the only one to truly know what had happened that week Alice was here. And there was no way he was getting any information from Tarrant. He was too...sad. But apparently he had moved, or so Mallymkun had said. The girl shifted in her sleep. Bad dreams maybe? He watched her carefully through the night. Her hair was just amazing.

* * *

When morning came, Teapot found herself quite surprised to find a cat sleeping with her. Not just any cat, a sort of violet cat with bright blue markings. How odd. Maybe this was...Chessur? Had he been watching her, maybe? She gently petted his fur, and it felt the same an any average cats fur. He woke suddenly, evaporating from the girls touch.

"Oh, no! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you."

Teapot said softly to the air around her. Nothing happened. She sighed, and asked the tree politely to put her down. When she had manged to get down (her dress had gotten caught on the branches, how horrid), she wondered where Chessur had gone. It was only when she started wondering did she see Chessur's smile appear before her. She smile back and said to the semi-evaporated Chessur,

"I've often seen a cat without a grin; but a grin without a cat! It's the most curious thing I ever say in my life!"

It was then that Chessur allowed himself to appear before the girl again.

"Alice?"

He asked simple. Teapot shook her head no to him, but encourage him to guess again. So, her mother had truly been to Wonderland! If Chessur really did know her, maybe it was true! Maybe he knew Teapot as well as her mother.

"You've got to be Alice. You say the same things as her, you look like her, you most certainly are Alice!"

"I am most certainly not."

Teapot huffed at Chessur as she crossed her arms.

"And I most certainly do not like being called someone I am not. After all, I would know who I am. I have been myself for quite some time now, I would know. I am Teapot, not Alice. I don't want to be Alice anyways. Who would want to be someone else..."

Chessur smiled wider (if that was even possible), as she continued on, her eyes gaining flecks of yellow. Oh, yes. This most certainly was a scandal. He would have to ask the White Queen about this, most definitely. But the girl was continuing on, gaining speed as she did. It took the girl another moment or two, before suddenly dropping off her tirade.

"Sorry."

She said, looking down in shame. She wasn't supposed to go off like that in front of people. Chessur slowly started to float around the girls head, wondering what made her tick. She was so strange. A bit mad, a bit curious, a bit of properness, a bit of politeness. She did not seemed to belong here, or anywhere for that matter.

"Teapot, was it?"


	7. Rings

Alright, so it's looking like at the moment this is the only chapter I'll be getting outthis weekend. But that's alright! Thank you, once more, for reading and please review!

At the moment, I am also working on some rewards for those who review! It's mostly going to be art of Teapot. It will be very interesting to see the different things I come up with with!

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It had been rather late, the ladies finally went to bed, Lady Ascot showing the girls to their rooms. Recently, all of the servants had been allowed to quit to avoid contracting whatever it was Lord Ascot had. Margret quickly changed into her nightgown, feeling a bit childish as she took the candle and started to make her way to where she thought Alice's room was. With each step, she tried to not make the floorboards creak in the night and awaken whoever might be in the rooms. She had been the last to be assigned a room, so she shouldn't have been so careful. It was a strange feeling, to try and steal something from your sister.

Then again, it had always been the other way around, hadn't it? Alice was always trying to steal something from Margret, such as a hairbrush or a doll. Her things would always go missing, and she never was able to find them. Margret would always blame such things on Alice, and Alice alone. Alice had happiness now, and Margret did not. But, enough of those thoughts. Margret was approaching Alice's room.

She creaked the door open to slowly and saw Alice asleep in her bed. Margret quickly covered her candle to keep the light reaching her sister and turned towards the vanity. If her sister had any sense, that's where the thing would be. Whatever it was. In truth, Margret had no idea what she was taking. She only knew she was stealing something, and something important.

Margret saw what she was looking for immediately on the vanity. A pair of rings. What? She picked them up slowly, ignoring the fact she was leaving the candle uncovered. Yes, they were rings. One had a small multicolored stone on it and the other looked like a wedding band. What exactly was Alice hiding from them? Was she married? To who? Was it Teapot's father? Why would she hide this?

"Huh? Margret?"

A sleepy voice called from the bed and Margret froze in place. Oh no. Oh no. Alice was awake. Alice knew she was here trying to steal something. Oh no. Margret turned slowly, keeping the hand with the rings tightly closed behind her back. She smiled softly. Maybe she could lie her way out of this. Maybe.

"Oh, Alice. I was just coming in to check on you."

She gently put the rings down on the desk as she spoke, hoping Alice wouldn't notice the movements or the small clink. She smiled sweetly at her her secret keeping sister, hoping this would work.

"Yes, of course. I'm alright, thank you Margret. Good night."

She said sleepily as she went back under the covers and Margret quietly made her way back to her room, questions haunting her mind, and assumptions filling it and casting Alice in a horrid light. Was Alice a widow? At such a young age? It was a possibility that she married a man, and then he died soon after. It would explain so much. Alice not knowing who the father was denial, she was just in denial! Of course, it made perfect sense! Margret had figured out Alice's secret, or so she thought anyways...


	8. Oraculum

Hopefully I've spelled all the names correctly. Enjoy another short chapter, and review please!

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Mirana woke from what seemed a shorter night than most. Hmm. She gave no attention to it as she gently got out of bed not to disturb her beloved and dressed quickly to shut the curtain. The sun was now peaking in and she did not wish to disturb the man sleeping in her bed. She smiled softly. Last night had been rough; Time was having one of it's fits again and everybody had a hard time getting to sleep.

Silently, she went out into the already bright hallway. How strange. It blinded her for a moment, but when she regained herself the blue butterfly Absolem sat on her shoulder. At first, she was overjoyed to to see her old friend. After all, they had not seen each other since Frabjous day, and since...Well, now Mirana was sad. She turned her attention from her thoughts and the the blue butterfly on her shoulder.

"Hello, Absolem."

She said as she walked a bit slower than usual down the hallway. Aboslem remained quiet for a moment, considering his options.

"Have you checked the Oraculum lately?"

He asked, somewhat gently. Mirana stopped, confused. Her eyebrows furrowed. Aboslem, gentle? What an oddity.

"No, I think not."

"Foolish girl. You have missed Atepot day."

"What?"

"Atepot day. Someone has arrived."

"Someone?"

Mirana looked down the brightly lit hall. Well, it made sense. Time had been going faster since last evening, so she assumed it was from that person. But the only person Time ever sped up for was Alice, and Alice wasn't supposed to return. Not after that week she spent here.

"Who?"

She asked, confused as to whom it might be.

"I don't know yet."

Aboslem then flew off with those final words. Absolem didn't know? She watched the blue butterfly fly down the the hallway and out a window. This was dire indeed.

* * *

"Teapot, was it?"

"Um, well, actually..."

Lacey said nervously as she pulled at her bow. She had to remember who she was. She was Lacey Miruna Kingsleigh, daughter of Alice Kingsleigh. That was who she was. Or so she thought. But who else could she be?

"Actually, my name is Lacey. People just call me Teapot."

"How disappointing...I suppose I'll have to take you the Mamoreal then."

Chessur said, as he started to go forward. Lacey was frozen for a second. Where was he taking her? And why did he sound so disappointed? She snapped herself out of it and then looked to see Chessur already far ahead of her! She ran after him with all of her nine and one half year old might.

"Hey!Wait! Where are we going?"


	9. Hamish

The next few chapter you're getting before I could revise them for the simple fact that finals have come upon use (my Beta's and I) and thereof, we have little time to argue and such over stylistic maneuvers. i will also be fast-tracking to Teapot meeting Hatter in the next chapter. Later on, I'll post a 'deleted chapters' thingy where you'll see what was supposed to go in between this and that. Enjoy!

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"For the last time Margret, I have never married nor ever will."

It was odd for Alice to be acting in such a way anymore. Ever since she had Lacey, she had become a much calmer person, yet more mysterious. To see Alice so out rightly opposing someone was...uncommon, but not rare. For the last hour or so, Alice and Margret had been alone in the tea room as Lady Ascot had gone out with their mother to await news. You see, a search party had been sent out in the morning and now it was almost noon and nobody had bothered to come back.

"Alice, I know about those rings you're hiding. You're keeping things from me, mother and Lady Ascot! I know you're grieving, but that's no reason to..."

"I have absolutely no idea what you are talking about Margret. What rings?"

Alice interrupted her _darling_ sister. So, Margret had been snooping last night. The best thing to do now was play dumb and act as if Margret was simply imagining things.

"The rings on your vanity! I saw them Alice, I held them in my hands, and then you woke up!"

"Margret, I have no idea what rings you are speaking of. Nothing was on my vanity last night, save my brush and a few other things. There were no rings."

"Alice, I saw them!"

"And I saw a rabbit in a waistcoat."

Margret grew quiet. Alice knew she had won this round, but there were many more to come. That was when Hamish walked into the tea room, looking rather bedraggled. He cleared his throat and straightened up a bit when he saw Margret in the room. Of course, must keep an appearance for those who are not as mad as Alice. Alice rose as he did and nodded to him to speak. Of course.

"Miss Alice, I am afraid the search parties have found no trace of young Miss Lacey."

"None?"

Alice asked worriedly. Margret, although cheering on the inside, seemed very worried in her appearance for her young niece. Alice seemed not to notice, but Hamish threw a glance at Margret's horrible acting. She had never been much of an actress.

"Not at all."

He said, looking at Margret. Margret stared back in fear. What would Hamish think of her now? What would he tell his mother?

"I see. Hamish, you may leave."

"If I may, can I speak to your sister alone for a moment?"

Alice glanced towards Hamish and back at Margret. Had Margret taken up Powell's nasty habits? She wondered, but nodded towards Hamish as she went out the door.

Alice had no idea what went on in that room, but when she went back in Margret said not a word to her for the rest of the day, even when Mother and Lady Ascot joined them. She would have to thank Hamish one day for that.


	10. Chessur

"Who is she?"

Mirana asked to no one in particular as she examined the Oracalum. Upon Absolem's advice, she ahd visited it once more, and found only something confusing. Agirl, looking very much like Alice, but was not Alice. There was a picture in front of her, of a young girl who must be Laice and Chessur. But laice certainly would not have stayed around Chessur for long. Unless it was not Alice at all, and simple someone else come to plague them.

The following picture made very little sense to her. There apparently were more arrivings in the days to come. Three boys, who would wreak havoc and once again, someone who looked very much like Alice. There was too many people coming about. She called for Nivens and told him to seal the rabbit hole at once to prevent these arrivings. Underland had as much trouble as it needed for now. The Knave was back in the country, apprently having killed her sister and was currently being watched by most of the White Knights who were not stationed elsewhere.

Mirana found herself lost in thought when suddenly the blue striped cat appeared next to her. He watched the Oracalum change for a moments, as the changes Mirana made were being put into place. The boys would no longer visit, but it seemed that another figure still would. How, Mirana wondered, would this figure get trhough? The Looking Glass had been sealed off long ago.

"Wondering who she is, your highness?"

Mirana jumped when Chessur spoke in his low purring voice. She put her hand over her heart and breathed a sigh as she looked up. Just Chessur. Nobody was here to hurt her.

"Who is she?"

"I highly doubt that she even knows that."

Mirana shot a confused look his way. What in Under was he talking about? A person must know who they are, or else they would never exsist! After all, one had to know.

"What do you mean? She must know who she is."

Chessur purred as he circled around Mirana. He had such respect for her majesty, but she had lost her touch in eight years. Not as mad as she used to be, he would say. Becoming someone rather drab and dreary. No longer belieiving what she could see. Her muchness was fading.

"The impossible are becoming possible again, my queen. She is here, if you wish to meet her. Chatting with Thackery, I presume."

Chatting? With Thackery? Oh, dear.


	11. Dedrick

Just a lil' tidbit about the names here, figured I may as well explain myself a bit here.

Teapot, it's supposed to be another illusion toward Hatter. Ha. Figures.

Lacey, when I am writing I often misspell Alice as Lacie thus came Lacey! Also, I figured out that in a lot of fics Hatter makes dresses as well as hats, so what goes on dresses? Lace. Random stuff, I know.

Dedrick. Really, I was going for something nice and dark sounding here simply because he's born of dark and light, Mirana and her husband (who always wears dark colored clothing, has dark hair). He's supposed to be a bit like Lacey, a mixture of things that shouldn't really go together. He's a bit...gray but still a young boy.

Chris and John. Generic. Wanted them to be like lackeys, which they are!

Hamish's wife will also remain unnamed as she is very generic as well. If you meet her, she will be like her children.

Lowell Jr. is a bit more evil than his dad. I don't like Margret or Lowell very much, as you can tell.

As for Mirana's husband...Unless I decide something else, he'll remain unamed for the moment.

As for drowning hats and tea...LOOKIES! I updates again! Enjoy my tidbit with Thackery, my tidbit with Dedrick, and a small tidbit with Mirana!

Excuse the use of the 'gay', I mean happy, cheerful. Not homosexual. Sheesh.

AND THANK YOU! My wonderful readers! I promise I will have the first meeting with Hatter up on Tuesday to celebrate! Meanwhile, Only two more chapters until Teapot meets Hatter for the first time! Squeee! I will have one chapter with Absolem, one chapter back in Overland, and then the next chapter shall be her and Chessur visiting Hatter. It will an intense chapter, and it will be a lot of fun!

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"TEA!"

CRASH. The young Teapot had ducked just in time to miss getting hit by another Teacup. Sheesh, how long would this go on? Everybody here seemed to think she was Alice, whoever Alice was. It might've been her mum, but how would she know that? It could be any Alice, truthfully. They hadn't told her anything about this 'Alice' person, except she was Alice.

"I TOLD YOU, I'M NOT ALICE!"

She yelled at the mad rabbit, and stormed out of the kitchen as much as a nine-year old could. Thackery blinked as the kitchen door slammed shut behind her, making only a small sound.

"Not...Alice?"

He stood stroking his small teacup in worry, as he hands shook uncontrollably. Even a mad rabbit had worry sometimes. And then he threw the teacup at the door. Stupid Alice.

Teapot fell next to the kitchen door, her knees to her chin, her crossed arm covering her face as she tried to pull herself together. She had gotten needlessly angry, and it seemed to be happening more often now thats he was here. These people were impossible.

"Since I have come here..."

She murmured into her knees, not knowing that soemone was in fact listening. It was Dedrick, who had recently come inside form playing and was covered in dirt. Apparently he had been playing ball with some of the servants, as he held an old ball in his hands.

"...I have walked for miles on end, slept in trees, been accused of being someone who I am not, had teacups thrown at me, and been taunted by a floating, evaporating cat."

"You shouldn't let Chessur get to you, he annoys everyone. And Thackery is mad as a baggert, as mad as the Hatter used to be. Who are you?"

Teapot looked up in shock and saw only a dirty boy. He wore clothing that was not very gay at all. It was more drab, all shades of grey. He was like silver than hadn't been polished in a while. It bothered her. But she set that aside and decided to let her frustration out.

"Well, I'm certainly not Alice."

She said begrudgingly as he sat across from in the hallway. He put his ball in front of him, and rolled to her. Teapot let it bounce off her legs back at him.

"I already knew that."

He said as young boys often do, with a hint of sarcasm, as he grabbed the ball rolling towards him. Teapot crossed her legs like him, wishing to play now. At least eh believed her. He pushed the ball back to her and she caught this time.

"How?"

She pushed it back to him, a confused look upon her face. He caught it with ease and smiled back at her. Unpolished silver, she reminded herself. Even his hair was gray, buts he swore he was about her age. Maybe he was like her.

"I always know who people are, Mama makes sure I do so I don't offend anyone. Does your Mama do that?"

"Yes, she does. She always tells me it rude to pick up frogs too."

"My mama does that too! But frog are so funny when you pick them up, they make funny noises."

The two children laughed as they played. It was the first time in forever Teapot had even felt accepted anywhere, save when she was with her mother. She smiled, and he talked about his mother and father, and a place called 'Wits End'.

"Wits End? That's a place?"

"No, no. Witzend. With a 'z' and all put together."

"WitZend. WitZZZend. Like that?"

"Yup. My mama has a friend there that's been sick for a long time. The adults don't think I hear them talking, but I heard them say they though he was going to die soon 'cause he stopped eating."

"That's horrible! How is he sick?"

"They say he's Love Sick. They say his wife left him a long time ago, and it makes him sick that she's not around. I don't get it."

"I wanna go to Witzend with you and your Mum."

"I'm sure she'd let you go. My momma's a very understanding person."

And, with that, a graceful lady dressed in all white rounding the corner as Chessur appeared beside the young Teapot. The lady looked utterly surprised to see the two young people chatting away as if they were already friends. Dedrick got up and ran to hug his mother as Lacey stood up and brushed off her dress nervously.

"Momma, this is my friend."

"I see, who is she?"

"I don't know."

"I'm not Alice, before you start making that assumption."

Lacey interrupted the mother-son moment. Dedrick clung to his mother's dress as the friendly girl he was just playing with seemed to change. Orange flecks spotted her eyes as she looked over the queen like person. She was unsure of what to do, so she waited for someone else to do something.

"Then who are you?"

Who was she? It seemed the question of the day. Even she couldn't quite figure it out, really. Lacey, teapot. Whoever she was, it ahd to be important because everyone was asking her about it.

"Well, my name is Lacey Miruna Kingsliegh, or so my mum says,m but some people call Teapot, some people call my brat, others call me Dearest. So, with all of these names floating around, it's quite hard to figure who you are, but I know I am not Alice, of all people. I do not want to be Alice, ever..."

She was gaining speed hastily, not sure quite how to explain herself. Her orange flecks turned to yellow, and she couldn't quite stop. Where did all this confusion over who she was come from? It was Chessur than eventually stopped her, the only one who had quite an idea of what to call her at the moment.

"Teapot."

"...Names. Right. Sorry."

"I suppose we could have you talk to Absolem them."

"Absolem?"

Teapot turned to Chessur for an explanation.

"Father of peace, the all knowing, the overbearing- Oh, you know what? I'll just let you find out."

Wonderful.


	12. Smoke

Sometimes Teapot wondred why people were so impossible. After a short introduction to a blue butterfly that could apprently talk and was this all knowing being. It was apprenly asked her questions that she had to answer, and yet it was supposed to be all knowing. 'It', however, was called Absolem. And Absolem seemed to have an over inflated sense of self worth. And the worst part was, everybody seemed to have cleared out. And this smoke was just choking her. And it seemed everytime Absolem asked a question

"Who are you?"

It asked impertiniently, for the sventh time. The first six she had not answeredm, and Absolem or whatever it was seemed to be getting annoyed.

"Well, I'm most certainly not Alice, contrary to popular belief."

"That was not the question."

"Well, in a sense it was. I mean, you certainly asked who I was,and determining who are means first determining who you are not. So thereof, I most certainly answered your question."

Aboslem sighed in defeat. This girl was most infuriating.

"Who are you?"

"Well, people call me Lacey Miruna Kingsleigh."

"You are hardly Lacey Miruna Kingsleigh."

"You are hardly Aboslem."

"I most certainly am Absolem!"

"You most certainly are not. Absolem knows everything. You do not."

Aboslem sighed. This girl was impossible, impertienenit. He could not work with such a mind. She was mad, completely bonkers, and would not answer his questions.

"I ask once more, who are you?"

"Not anyone that you think you know. I am Lacey."

"Who else are you?"

"Well, I guess you could also call me Teapot."

"Now, we are getting somewhere."

"What...?"

At that moment, Chessur seemed to evaporate beside her, startling her and makign her unable to finish, and the Absolem dissapeered into smoke.

"I'm sorry to interrupt you quaint conversation, but her majesty and the prince are leaving for Witzend soon. I believe Dedrick metioned something about you as well?"

It took the girl a moment to realize what Chessur was speaking of, but it quickly came to mind. Of course. Dedrick.

"Of course, show me to where they are Chessur."

And with that, the girl followed him in silence and did not speak the whole way there. She wa sthinking on something. Thinking on the matter of who she was. The only thing that was certain was that she was not Alice.


	13. Witzend

One last chapter before we meet Hatter! Ohhh, the suspense.

Soemwhere along the way, Teapot had fallen asleep. She sat across from Dedrick and his very bright mother, who had introduced herself as Mirana. Lacey witheld comment on her name and hers, and how they sounded the same. Miruna and Mirana were only one letter off from each other. Her dreams were plagued of strange dreams of people searching through the woods for something. She swore she knew some of them and it seemed so real...

But when she was just starting to figure out her dreams, she was woken by a pair of arms shaking her. Teapot awoke, rubbing her eyes and yawning. Dedrick then pointed out the window and she saw the small lively town of Witzend. It was colorful, bright, and wonderful. It made her smile. Until she looked upon one large building that was simply dreary and grey. It was grand, and extremly dead. As if nobody had lived there for the longest time.

As they rode through town, people smiled and bowed gracefully, and tried to peek in at the ragamuffin girl who looked so very much like Alice. She heard their whispers about Alice returning, and it annoyed her to no end. As they strode up up to the manor, she wondered if Mirana's friend would confuse her for Alice as well.

First went Dedrick, then Mirana. For a few moments, Lacey stared up in wonder at the manor, wondering if it was real. It seemed as real as anything else here, but it seemed to be the only thing so outrightly sad. Dedrick peeked back in at the girl and asked if she was coming. Teapot looked at him with her toothy smile and stood and jumped out. The horses laughed and so did Dedrick. Mirana seemed to ignore them.

The trio went to the door and knocked,a nd waited for a few moments. And then the door slowly opened, and there was Chessur, and a small mouse standing on a table. Were they taking care of this friend? Mirana went in first, then Dedrick and then Teapot. The mouse seemed to stare at Teapot for a moment and Teapot stared back. The mouse then began shouting something at her, words like 'Slurvish' came out of the mouses mouth, and Lacey had nowhere to hide. It scared her tosee anyone be this mad at her, and she didn't quite know why.

"Now, now, Mally. That is quite rude-"

Chessur said as Dedrick and Mirana went ahead upstairs to where she assumed where their friend was. But Lacey was frozen to the spot, staring with wide eyes that threatened to shed tears because of the mouse.

"Rude? This _slurvish slurking urpal slackush scrum _girl has caused..."

"Shush, Mally. Introduce yourself, will you?"

He said to the frozen Lacey, and she stuttered out the words.

"H-hello, I-i am T-teapot."

She said, and then her shoes became quite interesting as she looked down. She was scared of a mouse, how oddly ironic. Wasn't Lady Ascot afriad of mice as well? Teapot took one look back up as her courage returned to her slowly. That's right, it was just a mouse. Just a mouse.

"See, Mally? It's just a little girl, and you have offended her quite well. Apologize."

Mally mumbled out an apology and Lacey nodded in return. That was when Mirana and Dedrick glided down the stairs. Dedrick ran ahead of his mother, and started pulling on Lacey's arm insistently.

"Common, he wants to see you!"

"Who?"

She said as she was pulled up the stairs. Mirana had reached the ground before they had started, so it was all good, but Teapot was rather confused and her eyes seemed to fleck in orange due to this.

"The Hatter, of course!"

"He wants to see her?"

Mally asked, looking up at Mirana with a confused look that Mirana seemed to share. It was all a mystery anymore, what this girl was doing and why people liked her so.

"Yes, Dedrick mentioned her, and he expressed interest."

"He expressed?"

"Yes."

The only one who hadn't spoken was Chessur, who seemed to float along with his ever so bemused smile.

"Curiouser and curiouser."

He said as he evaporated right before their eyes. This was bound to be interesting.


	14. What She Found

After a long hiatus due to familial issues, I bring the fourteenth chapter of 'The Tale of Teapot!' Yes, there will be more after this. It probably won't be up for quite a while, but the recovery is beginning but before he fully recover, will Lacey land herself right into the hands of one of Alice's (and Tarrnt's) most hated enemies? More to come!

Review, review, review!

Thank you reviewers for keeping my inbox full of reminders to finish this gosh darned chapter!

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"Well, go on! I promise, he doesn't bite, and his sickness isn't contagious. At least that's what my Mom says."

"Well, I can't just go in. I don't know his name, or how he's going to react to seeing me."

"His name is Hatter. And he _wants_ to see you."

Dedrick had assured her of this as he left her alone to stand in front of the skewed door. It was old, weary. The doorknob was a grimy sort of silver. All of this, Lacey took note of while attempting to gain her muchness from where she had left it downstairs. The sudden news that the Hatter would want to see her was strange. The Queen seemed perplexed, the cat had just smiled and the mouse glared her at Dedrick had pulled her up the stairs.

_Muchness._ What was it anyways? A type of courage, of bravery? But who cared anymore? A few more steps and she would meet someone her mother never talked about. This meant he was either really good or really bad. But she had talked about the Red Queen and she was really bad. So who was it? The question hung in the hair as her small hand turned the doorknob.

The door swung open with a small creak. The room, she could tell, had once been filled with energy and joy. Now it was simply a husk of what it had been. Table was over turned. Fabrics laid strewn some in piles, some hanging from coat racks, and other cut beyond recognition. A single window filtered in light through dust and grime. There was full length mirror, cracked.

And in the midst of all the wreckage a figure atop one of the large piles of fabric seemed misshapen, wrong. The figure let out a large sigh, as if it were troublesome to breathe. She moved slowly, the door shut slowly by itself as she moved towards it. Him. Whatever it was.

"Hello?"

She asked softly to the figure, as she got closer to it. She could see him now, his cheeks sunken in, his hair matted. He looked like a dog that had been left to die. His otherworldly green eyes flickered up to her, and then looked back down. Speak, Lacey. Speak.

"M-my name is Lacey, but some call me Teapot."

"Teapot."

He repeated it softly, softer than her first hello. She sat beside him, watching him carefully. He was old. So very old, and sad. No wonder he was Love Sick. His heart had more than he could bear. She watched his eyes and followed where they were. A hat. It was old, like him. It was atop a table. She stood up and went to retrieve it. She sat beside him again, he was watching her.

"Is this yours?"

She asked, examining it. It was pretty. The purplish red scarf tied around, a peacock feather and paper around a very funny looking hat. But it was pretty and old.

"May I use it for a while?"

He made no attempt to respond. She carefully put it on her head so that it wouldn't fall over her eyes. There was a knock at the door. She looked up nervously at the door and back at the Hatter. She had to go soon.

"Hatter,"

She started, but stopped. She was unsure of what to say. Should she comfort him? Maybe hold his hand? But it all seemed wrong. He had grieved for so long. It was a loss that he couldn't get back. Carefully, she kissed his forehead.

"I'm sorry. Get better soon, okay?"

She got up, hat still on her head and left the room.

Tarrant felt as if a little light had just been shed on his dark heart. A little light that he didn't deserve.


	15. Happenings

Woo! Another chapter!

Just to let you know, things are gonna get crazy for me in the next few months, I'll update when I can, but it won't be often.

You guys are awesome :D

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It had been just a few days after Mirana's visit, and as per norm, Mally and Chess sat in the Hatter's kitchen. They never spoke a word to each other, each of them always having the same thing on their minds. Tarrant seemed to have taken a dive for the worst once again, and normally a visit from Mirana would perk him up a bit, but neither of them had seen sight nor tail of improvement from the man.

Mallymkun sighed as Chessur dissipated once again. Oh, who knows where he was going anymore. Chessur had been acting strange for quite a while, dissipating at the most convenient of times instead of inconvenient, as he normally did. When he was never there, such as when they brought food to Tarrant, he was. It was rather strange.

And then this girl. Teapot, Lacey, whatever she was called. Tarrant had said Teapot. She was the most perplexing of all. She was young, probably confused herself by this new world, and looked exactly like…Like _her._ Mallymkun wouldn't dare to even think the name anymore. It was her fault that the Hatter was like this and her fault…

"Mally,"

A soft, withered voice spoke from the entrance. It sent a shiver up the small mouse. She slowly turned toward the opening where it had come from. There stood a withered man, leaning up against the frame of the door. His clothes faded, hanging off of him and tattered. His hair matted, a beard starting to grow on his chin (he wasn't a very good beard-grower). Mally would have never recognized him if it hadn't been for the bright green eyes, and the corners of his mouth attempting to pull up into a smile.

"HATTER! "

It had to be a good sign.

Little Lacey say alone in garden in Mamoreal. The castle had changed since she was last here, It wasn't enchanting and wonderful anymore, now it was…lonely. She sat; drawing stick figures in the grass with a stick a tree had lent her (so long as she didn't break it). Little lonely Lacey. Not one person had spoken to her in days. Not even Thackery (she now knew that was his name) had taken any notice. At first, she had been worried that was under a spell of some sort but quickly ruled that out for she had seen no spell making people.

Dedrick strolled down the garden path. She made attempt to greet him, as it would only lead to more disappointment. She sighed, and the hat on her head fell over her eyes. She gave a small 'Oof' as she suddenly became blinded. The hat was much too big for her, but she was keeping it safe for Mister Hatter. She needed to.

She fixed her hat and found Dedrick to be staring at her, his eyes as round as saucers. She laughed at his face, and his mouth popped into a little 'o' of surprise. She smiled. He smiled back and sat with her. For some time they sat there, drawing pictures with the stick, before one of them spoke.

"I'm sorry for not speaking to you, but Mother has declared that no one should speak to you."

"Why?"

Lacey asked nonchalantly as she finished her picture. It was two stick figures, her and Dedrick, sitting in some grass. He took the stick from her and drew a tower in the background with a telescope.

"Because she thinks you'll leave…"

"I won't"

"…And break somebody's heart."

"I most definitely won't do that."

"I know. But she thinks your evil."

"Do you think I'm evil?"

Lacey asked, now looking up at him. He looked back. A moment of silence was shared between the two children that radiated of adultness. It seemed the two of them understood more than any adult in this land. But it was obvious what his answer was.

"I think Mother is just paranoid."

"I think she is too."

There was a rustling of skirts coming around the corner, and Dedrick took off running. Lacey erased the picture quickly, and went to give back the stick to the tree when Mirana saw her. Mirana seemed to look completely through her as she talked with a noblewoman beside, who stared at the girl and the hat, before she commented on it.

"Why, your highness, I did not know Tarrant had a child."

"He doesn't."

And thus, the subject was dropped, the noblewoman looking very shamed by Mirana's suddenly harsh words. Lacey watched as the two ladies left, giving a little curtsy in her trousers and tunic.


	16. Ilosovic Stayne

Short but sweet. Welcome Stayne, to our little party!

This is going to be very intresting in the next couple updates. Just to let you know, the Hatter will be back in say, oh, three or four chapters? Just depends on how fast my story line wants to move.

Enjoy! I'll keep updating as soon as I get the chance. Darn you homework!

* * *

Lacey was alone. Again.

This whole loneliness thing was getting quite annoying. And since she had received strict orders not to leave her room (for apparently, something important was going on today and the Queen did not wish for the inhabitants of Underland to incorporate themselves with her), she could not go to the kitchen and append time with Thackery (as she had often in the past week) or sneak around with Dedrick (her favorite pastime) or just wander about. It was quite, well, BORING! She sat, twirling her acquired hat on her tiny finger to attempt to entertain herself.

Noise was coming from the downstairs. Apparently some kind of party had started. The music was foreign, but everyone's voices seemed quite happy from what she could hear. She was far away from the ball room today; they had moved her room for some reason. She used to have a balcony a nice bed, now she had a nice bed and balcony but it wasn't quite as nice and was much farther away from the people.

With a 'humph', she sat on the bed and fell over. How BORING! She utterly bored with this room, and this place. At first, it had been utterly wonderful and amazing. But since then, the Queen had become wary of her presence and seemed to look straight through the girl but grew angry if she saw anyone talking to her. Thus, Lacey had to sneak about to talk to her newfound friends. Besides that, she couldn't leave and check on that man, the Hatter they called him, she had met. She wanted to give back his hat now, but somehow she had felt so rushed to leave that place she hadn't put it down.

She sat up now, holding the hat up to window. And just then, another man appeared in her window. Her mouth opened in an 'o' as he opened her window, stepped in as if he were just floating on air, and brushed himself off. He held a very serious gaze as he looked about the room and seemed to be ignoring her for a moment. It gave her time to sum up the man in question.

Well, he was old, about as old as the Hatter. The most prominent feature about him was the fact that his clothes looked tattered and worn and his eye patch. His eye was covered by a heart shaped eye patch for some reason. He was wearing all black anyways, and had a sword. She put on the Hatter's hat carefully and watched him just as carefully. How odd was this man.

He finally noticed her, and seemed just as surprised as she was.

"I'm not Alice."

She said frankly, not knowing where the words had come from. She watched him and he watched her, both not knowing what to make of each other.

"Ilosovic Stayne."

He said simply. She raised an eyebrow.

"Lacey Kingsleigh."

"You wouldn't happen to know where the Oraculum is, would you?"

"Probably with Absolem, why?"

"Just wondering."

And with that, Ilosovic Stayne left her room.

How curious.


	17. Windows

Oh, hello my lovely reviewers!

Just as a response to some of your response, I would like to say that right now Hatter is one the backburner. Why? Certain things need to happen before he shows up again. ;)

Meanwhile, I seem to be going through a bout with sickness and testing at the same time. Never a good mixture, I'm sure all of you would agree.

Future chapters will contain more Hatter and Alice. And Mirana, as we figure just what exactly seems to be disturbing our ruler.

Oh, yes. And Chess will be back soon. :D

I'm thinking of doing a chapter while Lacey is sick…any suggestions?

…What do you guys think of ravens descending upon Mamoreal?

* * *

It only took a few moments for Ilslovic Stayne to run into trouble in the white castle of Mamoreal.

Truth be told, it wasn't a well planned expedition anyways.

After Stayne had killed the brat of a red queen that he was attached to in the Outlands, and then properly dispose of her, he had felt rather…lost. In truth, his whole world had been constructed around prying on Iracebeth's weakness to eventually push himself into a higher power. Now, he had nothing. He had wandered the Outlands for quite some time, before accidently wander back into Underland.

He had no plans, really. At most, he just wanted to be inside the castle for a while. To take a proper bath maybe, and change clothes. Shaving would be nice. But Salenzen Grum was in a state of disrepair and Mamoreal was no place for Stayne to be. But the floating potion he found was quite tempting. And thus, he chose to enter Mamoreal. The Oraculum came later, as an excuse. If they found him guilty of a crime (and killing Iracebeth was no crime, as she was exiled), they would keep him. Or kill him. Whichever came first, at least he would be in Mamoreal.

And then that girl. Lacey, was her name. She seemed so utterly cautious, but not so that she would attack him; she held her suspicions. But otherwise, Stayne could not tell if she knew him or not. And her statement, 'I'm not Alice'. Although it was perfectly understandable, for the girl did in face look very much like the Alice that destroyed his entire life (although he couldn't entirely blame Alice for that, as he already blamed Iracebeth for many of the atrocities in his life), her hair color and eyes completely set her different from Alice.

And now, he was running. And why? He wanted to be caught. But that girl, and her gaze made something in him want to live. Even if it was in exile.

And so, he found himself running towards her room once again. As he turned the corner and then open and shut the door quickly, the girl was shocked. But it only took her moment to put it together. She pushed him into her closet (which was rather small, but comfy) and shut that door just before the guards rushed in and asked what happened.

He couldn't tell what all she said, but he could tell that she was a wonderful little actress. But the question still lingered. Why would she help him? The guards spoke back to her, in an apologetic manner and told her to stay in her room while they searched the premises. Then they left. He breathed a sigh of heavy relief.

She opened the closet a few moments later and smiled at him. How could such a small girl have such an effect on the world? For the first time since Iracebeth was winning, he felt joy and felt that Underland felt this joy as well. The fact that he could feel Underland was a new aspect. As he stood ( as he had crouched as a way of saving space) and brushed himself off, he saw the girl walk across to her window and close it, drawing the drapes.

"Why did you help me?"

He asked the girl, who smiled at him in response.

"You seem nice. And besides, I don't really like this place. It's too big and lonely."

So she needed company. He was possibly the worst company she could have asked for.

* * *

BAM!

More to come in this relationship between Lacey and Stayne.

Review! Let me know that you are reading! Pleeeaase? :3


	18. Salazen Grum

Hello eveyone! Another livley update for The Tale of Teapot!  
I hope you all have checked out the prequel to this, named "Seven Days". It tells the story of Alice's visit before this one to Underland.  
Enjoy!

* * *

**Salazen Grum **

"Here."

Lacey held out a tray of tarts to her new found companion, Knave. Knave hadn't told her his real name yet, just that he was a Knave of Hearts. He looked at the tarts for a moment, and shivered, as if he were remembering a bad memory. The Knave was the quiet type, preferring to let his actions speak for him. He took one the tarts and nibbled on it nervously. Lacey sat on the plain bed and watched him eat.

"You know, I've been listening to a lot of what the Queen says."

Knave kept on eating, pretending to her ignore her. Whatever she was suggesting, he wasn't going for it quite yet. Lacey kept on, though she thought the Knave was being quite rude not to listen to her. Although, he may have been listening and she just didn't know. Teapot did that quite a lot when her mother or other people were talking to her.

"The Queen says that if you have a family, they can't do anything to you."

Stayne didn't have a family. That was certain. Teapot didn't know if Stayne had a family or not, but she was pretty sure he didn't. People with families acted different. They were more protective of their lives, and their things. Knave did neither of these,

"I don't have a father."

Now, Stayne was interested. She didn't have a family either? He stopped eating and looked at the small girl before him. She would accept him…as family. It was dangerous. It was stupid. It was insane. It was just the thing for Teapot to do. Teapot watched him carefully, just as he watched her carefully. After all, this had to be a joke. He swallowed.

"Why?"

He asked quietly, looking down at the tray of tarts before him. It was quiet as Lacey considered her answer to his question.

"Because some doors need opened, some windows need closed. And besides, I think…you are just as sad as she is."

She responded, tossing her head towards the throne room for him to understand who she meant. The Queen was filled with such sadness. Everyone ignored it. Everyone forgot it. She did something that had changed her greatly and she regretted it.

"I suppose we should go down to see Queen Mirana, father."

"Yes, we should…daughter."

* * *

"OFF WITH HER HEAD!"

It was a phrase that was never heard in the White Court. Except for today. Except for the day that Lacey and Isslovic Stayne stood before her, in her own court and declared that they were father and daughter. The court was shaken. Her guards coughed. After all, according to the law they could not carry out this order. They were family now. Although an illegitimate and not very well put together family, they were family.

The White Queen clutched the arms of her throne with such force that her veins showed, her eyes bulging out of her head. Lacey was indeed scared. The King approached his wife slowly and touched her arm. She released her chair and deftly made her way behind the throne and into another room, apparently.

Lacey and Stayne stood in shocked silence. Did the Queen mean that? What was going to happen? It was all mixed up now. They waited, in a strange sort of silence for the Queen to reappear.

"You both will be relocated to Salazen Grum. You will both be banished to that castle until the day that Isslovic Stayne dies. That is my final ruling."

And so, it was.


	19. How she got there

In all honesty, it has been a while since Marcus has escorted any type of prisoner. He should have hated his prisoner with his worst. But it was difficult to spawn any sort of hatred towards a little girl trying to protect a man she considered her father. Marcus, being a father himself, could only attempt to ignore the girl in shackles as much as he could. He couldn't but glance over at her, in her sad state, however. And just as much as he pitied the girl for her misfortune of just going to Salezen Grum, he was captivated at how such a small girl had accomplished so much.

Dropped out of the plain blue sky, some had said. Right in the middle of Queen Mirana's tea party. She spoke with many years of age, they said, but remained innocent of those sins that came with age. She had overpowered the Queen with simple words, and brought a small light of hope back into the Sad Hatter's eyes. She had confounded the Chesire Cat, and made the Grey Prince sparkle so that they now called him 'Silver Prince'. Rumors abound, that she was the daughter of Alice, the once Champion, but as much as they were true or not, it did not matter to many. This girl, this small girl, had proven herself brilliant and lovely, and brought back the impossible to an impossible world.

And she was only ten years of age.

As he looked, which turned into a stare, he sensed the gravitas around the girl. Something drew people toward her, even in rags, and no shoes, she stood tall. Here was girl that very well could lead the people into rebellion. And it seemed no matter how hard Mirana would try to prevent, her spirit would not fade. Even when the entire kingdom did not recognize her appearance, even when standing before the Queen herself, this girl held herself well. And she made the nobility more nervous they than had been in years. And nervous they should have been.

He turned away for moment, and saw a party that seemed armed blocking the path ahead. He sighed. Maybe this could be his way out, he though hopelessly. No matter what happened, it would have to be a moral choice here. Both would have severe consequences, he could see that. He stopped his company a few feet from the party and dismounted his horse.

"Hail!"

He spoke in a loud commanding voice. All a ploy, really. He couldn't hold his composure for long, the way the party was staring.

"We hold those accused of treason, Teapot Isloyvic. You are required to clear a path so that we may pass."

A tense moment of silent passed between the two groups. Marcus could see his party was clearly outnumbered here. Even if they were just commoners, which they weren't, it would be a tough battle to face. Most of them were trained rebels, during the time of the Red Queen. And the, a voice from somewhere in the party.

"What of Stayne?"

Tenseness in the voice. He could sense it. They were all tense here, it seemed.

"Stayne Isloyvic is awaiting trial at Memoreal. His crimes have been deemed worse enough to partake in the waiving of the familial rule set in place by the White Queen on Frabjous Day."

Another pause. Some shuffling, people moving out of the way frantically. Their leader was coming forward, it seemed. Marcus could only stare as he realized who coming forward, a claymore strapped to his back and a hat on his head. It the Hatter, out and about. Clean-shaven, and still gray, but brighter than he had been. He stood before the Guard Captain, and respectfully tipped his brilliant hat, a purple band around, a peacock father and a piece of paper with strange numbers on it.

"We just want the girl, Captain."

Marcus sighed, throwing a glance back to the girl. What an amazing thing she was.

"I have no right to refuse the milliner of many a Queen. You may have her."

Two guards broke rank, and undid her shackles. For a moment, Teapot was frozen. Then, one calculated step at a time, until she was beside the Hatter. They all watched, holding their breath, and then releasing it when the Hatter took off his hate and set it upon her small head.

"I'll probably lose my ranking for this, you know."

Marcus thought aloud with a sigh. It was all over. Nothing was left to do except help the girl heal.

"Thank you."

Tarrant spoke , and the both parties went their own way. Some to go home, some to heal, some to a new war.

And some, to make tea.

* * *

Update!

Read, reveiw, teh normal stuff.

Sorry for being away so long, life caught up with me in a bad way.


	20. Darkness

Entering the Hatter's home again, for the second time in her young life, seemed to be a blessing. Teapot stood in the doorway for moment, taking in the space like she

hadn't had the chance to before. It was a full place, marked by work and sadness, but peaceful in many ways. She hadn't believed a house could have ever been as the

Hatter's house was. She didn't have much time to take in her new haven, however, because in the next moment the Hatter collapsed, nearly on top of her. It knocked the

hat she had on off, and with all of ten year old strength, she held him slightly off the ground and then slowly lowered him to the ground.

The Hatter was still weak. With all the noise, the other inhabitants came out of their hiding places. Mally and Chessur now looked at the red haired Teapot standing

over a unconscious Tarrant.

"He fell."

The small girl said simply, only to hear a sigh from Mally and not a word from Chessur.

"He'll wake up, eventually."

Chessur said before dispersing once more. Mally went back to what she was doing before, whatever it is warrior mice do. Now it was Lacey's turn to sigh at both of

them. She didn't want to leave Hatter, her savoir from Salazen Grum but at the same time, she needed to start a plan to save Stayne. Stayne didn't deserve to die, and

she knew it. Knew it more than Mally, or Chessur, or Hatter would ever know it. It was something she knew, something she believed more than anything. Everyone deserves

life, at at the same time, she knew she wouldn't make it. Lacey knew that Stayne would die. She would never see Derrick again. She would never visit

Mamoreal. She was a fugitive now.

A rebel.

And nothing could change that.

* * *

A shift began in Underland.

A shift that no one could quite understand until everything was done with.

Because two murders would happen when night fell. A black knight and a white queen would die.

Leaving only the Dark King, and the Grey Prince to rule.

He made it seem like Stayne had done it. The White Queen had summoned him to the throne room late at night. He was there. Nobody else was.

There was screaming, and then silence before the knights rushed in to see the Dark King's sword stuck in Isllovic Stayne, and the queen dead in her throne. The Dark

King told his story and played the part of a bereaved husband for a while. There were ceremonies, gardens planted, statues erected.

They would all be destroyed later.

Dark descended on Underland.

And nothing could change that.

* * *

I started reading through my past reviews. And promptly cried for 15 minutes. I love you guys, you have no idea.

I'm sorry I haven't updated, but I've been going through a lot lately, physically, mentally, ect.

Just so you know, I love you.

Thanks for believing in me.


	21. Voices

So, umm, not to be a cop-out, but expect a time jump in about two chapters. I give this to you to bring hopeish like feelings that the story is moving. Don't worry, only a small bit more set-up before we get to action! Alice in prison, Lacey as an assassin, Tarrant finding out he's a dad! All this and more coming up in 'The Tale of Teapot'!

* * *

'

It had been a week, and no sign of Lacey Kingsleigh .

Alice was a wreck. But nobody else was distraught over the girl missing, because Lord Ascot's condition had worsened over the week. He was getting frailer and frailer, and now they were all in his room. Lady Ascot was praying, the Priest was nearby to absolve him, and the doctor was ever vigilant in his watch. Mother and sister were on the other side of Lord Ascot, praying with Lady Ascot. Alice, meanwhile, was sat in a corner in a large chair. Things were quickly deteriorating in Alice's life. Now, not only her daughter, but her trusted business partner was fading quickly. She wanted to disappear into that chair.

But fate would not allow her to do that, for that was far too easy. The room was quiet when Lord Ascot whispered in his old voice, requesting to speak to Alice for a moment. The room stared at him, then at Alice, who made no mistake in her expression of solemnity. The doctor and Lady Ascot locked eyes, and the doctor gave a terse nod at her. The two got up, and went out, the rest following them. Alice was deeply unsure of the situation. When the door closed behind the troupe, she rose slowly and went to where the doctor had been before her.

"Alice, I've been hearing the strangest things since I've been laying here. I'm sure I'd noticed it before, but the mirror...it talks."

Lord Ascot's eyes drifted to the ceiling while Alice's went to the mirror, watching closely. She wasn't sure what to make of it. Was it a dying man's last trick, or was it real? Was his body betraying him again. She watched, and he started speaking.

"The doctor says it's a normal thing, when one is dying, to hear the voices of loved ones. But this isn't a loved one. I don't know him, but he doesn't talk often. It used to be it would only be a faint whisper that I couldn't make out, but it's louder now. Stronger, like he was sick and now recovered. He keeps saying 'Teapot'."

He paused and coughed. Alice was confused, and struck. Teapot. Lacey's adopted name. Could it be...?

"When I was well, I could see him. He looked so sad and weak. I wonder if he's better now. Lady Ascot said you're daughter named herself Teapot. She's gone missing, hasn't she?"

Alice's mood changed, her face grew sadder. Lord Ascot noticed.

"I'm sorry, Alice. I'm handing over the company to Hamish, on the account he keeps you as a partner. The boy wouldn't know what to do with the company, anyways. I hope you find your daughter. And, if you can, find that man. He needs healing more than I do."

Another cough, and then Lord Ascot was asleep. Alice felt as if she were in a dream. A mad, crazy dream. Grief makes a person change, sometimes. They forget the fantastical, impossible things, and cannot see what is before their eyes. And for the first time in a week, Alice reached for her rings once more. She was crazy, mad, insane. It didn't matter in the slightest what she was, for in that moment she saw colors dance across Lord Ascot's mirror, and voice calling out 'Teapot!' A familiar voice, a lonely voice. One she hadn't heard in a long while, ten years to be exact. She'd never thought she could go back, until she climbed atop Lord Ascot's wardrobe and touched the mirror. She was greeting by waves, and she giggled. Yes, she could go back.

And that's when Alice, for a third and final time, fell farther than she ever had before.


	22. Rebel

_Long one, hard to write. Sorry it took so long. Enjoy._

* * *

_CRASH!_

_Lacey Kingsley awoke with start to a noise from downstairs. She sighed. Though she was still very young, she had been acting caretaker of a man known as 'The Mad Hatter' for the past nine months. Now, a twelve year old girl-woman with the patience of a saint still took care of Tarrant Hightopp faithfully. How a mouse and a cat had done this for so long was beyond her comprehension, as was the reason she even bothered with the man. Some said that she would be better off just going into an orphanage than staying with him. Lacey Kingsley, however, stayed._

_And now to check on her elder, whom she assumed had just knocked over another of his famous tea sets downstairs in the kitchen. Realizing she had dawdled enough, she rushed herself down the crocked staircase, being careful not to fall as she had done so many times before. With a small skip, she landed safely past the last step. Well, she was still a child, after all._

_Preparing herself for the worst (as she did so often in this time of dark), she peeked slowly into the kitchen, and there he was. He held his hand gingerly, apparently having cut himself in the process of trying to pick up the pieces before she got there. Lacey Kingsley sighed, and Teapot giggled. Silly man. She crossed the room carefully, being sure not to step on the broken porcelain pieces and cut her foot. He was somewhat surprised at her appearance before him, as she took his hand to assess the wound._

"_I, umm, just was getting some tea..."_

_He muttered, the Mad Hatter being lost for words at the sight of his caretaker. He peeked nervously down at the broken pieces, the pieces of a tea set that he knew was her favorite. He admonished himself for being so clumsy and breaking something so precious. How could he? He was such an idiot. He had to make up for this someway..._

"_Shush. It's okay. No need to make up for anything."_

_Her kind words brought the Hatter out of his strange trance. Had he been speaking out loud? He looked down again, embarrassed now, as she wrapped his hand. Everything would be all right. No us crying over spilled tea. Teapot smiled sweetly at him as they both sat at the table in the kitchen and drank cold tea, keeping each other up with their ramblings. _

_It was a beautiful night._

_The scene changed quickly, to another night much like that one that would come a few days later. A man would break into their house. This man, the captain of the Mamoreal guard, would inform them of the warrants placed on both of them by the King. It was that night that everything would again change for Teapot._

* * *

_5 years later..._

CRASH!

Teapot awoke with a start at the sound of a loud crash outside her tent at a very late hour of the night. The seventeen year old girl groaned as she rose from her cot. Being one of the only women in the camp, she was allowed a certain amount of privacy over the boys in the camp. And she had grown up. Her body, once much like a twig, had filled out into an attractive form. Her hair had grown redder, almost orange. The short sleeves of her sleeping gown reveal a vine like tattoo covering her left arm. Dawdling again, she thought to herself as she exited her small tent and ventured into the rebel camp center, where, waiting for her, was a blue caterpillar.

"Hello Absalom."

Teapot greeted the caterpillar as an old friend. Absalom had made a habit of visiting her once or twice a year, always with the same question.

"Hello, girl."

He answered back as the space around them filled with blue smoke. Teapot was not in the bit phased by this routine. The smoke separated them from the rest of the camp, many of the inhabitants now venturing out to see what the crash was.

"Well, Absalom, why are you here?"

"Who are you?"

"Teapot, Lacey, ect cetera. I don't see why it matters, caterpillar. You ask the same question every time I see you, and I always give the same answer. Don't you have any other questions, like 'How are you' or 'How do you feel about going to the ball tomorrow'?"

"It will matter soon, very soon."

The blue caterpillar blew a puff of smoke in her face casually as he disappeared and she fell back, landing with a strong thud on the ground. Her hair splayed across the ground as she began having the strangest visions in her head and people closed around her to ensure she was okay. One of the most prominent was an older looking Tarrant Hightopp, who looked at her with wide eyes.

She woke slowly, blinking as she became aware of the crowd of people amassed around her body.

"Sheesh, can't a girl sleep in peace?"

She muttered, turning over on her side. The sun rising began to illuminate the cave that the camp was set up in. She closed eyes, wishing the people away. The sounds of feet shuffling away to begin the day, grumbles about caterpillars and Oraculums and such. A nudge from Tarrant.

"Come on, Teapot. Come on. Time to get ready for the day."

He prodded her gently, knowing how dangerous the girl had become since she was brought to the rebel camp. They had taken no time to turn her into a weapon against the Black King, even before his true nature was revealed.

"I dun wanna."

She groaned back at him. Teapot hated when he played the father figure. It always made her feel bad, like she actually had to do something. She groaned as he prodded her side again.

"Come on. You can't stay here. You'll get run over, trampled on by people, or even worse! If you do that, you might get hurt, and then you'll have to get better, I'll probably take care of you myself, but still, getting hurt isn't fun, I should know..."

"Fiiine..."

She said, interrupting his quickly spiraling rant as she sat up to look him directly in his face. His eyes, filled with a strange emotion that crossed worry and somehow, love, glowed a greenish blue and stared directly into hers. She sighed at him.

"You have really got to give up on some of those emotions. They won't get you anywhere but trouble."

She said coldly at him as she got up, and brushed off her nightgown. She walked away from him, not looking back. But he watched her go. The little girl who had taken care of him at his worst had grown up to be cold, callous, and calculating. It was as if she had given all of her emotions to him.

It was as if she had no more muchness to give.

And she would have to give so much more.

* * *

"Right, so you know your mission..."

"Yeah, yeah. Kill the King, woo the Prince, blah, blah. Be nice until the last moment. You'll have your guys ready for me, right?"

"Right. So, you ready?"

"I hate parties."

"That's a yes. You sure you don't want to say goodbye to Hatter? He is kind of torn up about this morning still."

"He's a big boy. He'll be fine."

"He is your best friend."

"I don't have friends, Locke."

"...Right. Anyways, off you go."

She stepped into the carriage that had been prepared for her. Locke closed the door behind her. They both knew this may be her last mission with the rebels. Maybe that's why she was suddenly so cold. Maybe it was just lurking there all the time. But Locke knew better.

She had so much more to give.


End file.
